The aunt of convicted baby killer De’Marquise Elkins pleaded guilty Friday to providing a false alibi for him as police investigated the fatal shooting of a 13-month-old boy.

Katrina Elkins pleaded guilty to making a false statement to officers for saying De’Marquise, who is now serving what is likely a 105-year-sentence, was at her house playing games on her computer at the time Antonio Santiago was shot in the face by a youth who tried to rob his mother on a Brunswick street, District Attorney Jackie Johnson said.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley accepted her guilty plea in Hazlehurst where her trial had been moved because of overwhelming publicity in Glynn County. Kelley sentenced her to the maximum five years.

With her plea, only one defendant remains, Dominique Lang, 16, who is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and other charges in Antonio’s slaying. He was with De’Marquise Elkins the morning of the March 21, 2013, slaying and fled with him after a failed attempt to rob Antonio’s mother, Sherry West. West testified she had no money to give Elkins and had pleaded with him to not shoot her baby.

But Lang also testified for the prosecution at the trial of De’Marquise Elkins and his mother Karimah Elkins last year in Marietta, Ga., less than a year ago. The jury there found both guilty and Kelley sentenced Karimah Elkins to the maximum 10 years in prison for throwing the revolver her son had used into a saltwater pond to conceal it from police.

Lang’s lawyer, Kimberly Copeland, filed a motion to have him tried in Juvenile Court, but that is possible only if Johnson drops the felony murder charge.

Johnson said Friday that she believes a mental evaluation that Kelley ordered at Copeland’s request is complete and that it will likely have a bearing on where the case is tried.

“I haven’t seen it yet,” she said of the evaluation. “It goes to the defense before it comes to me.”

Sabrina Elkins, De’Marquise Elkins’ older sister, has also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence for helping their mother throw away the .22-caliber revolver. Johnson said it is her goal to have Sabrina Elkins sentenced before going forward with the case against Lang.

With her plea Friday, Katrina Elkins likely avoided prosecution on three counts of identity theft. She is accused of getting credit cards in the names of three state convicts.

Johnson said the evidence supporting the indictment has been suppressed by Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison. Officers who had a search warrant to take Katrina Elkins’ computer also spotted evidence of the identity fraud in her house and seized it.

Harrison ruled the officers should have gotten a separate warrant and threw out the evidence.

“We not going to be able to proceed on those charges,” without that evidence, Johnson said.

Had Katrina Elkins not pleaded guilty to making a false statement, Johnson said her office would have appealed Harrison’s decision.

CrimeStoppers is seeking information in the 2009 slaying of a Savannah nightclub manager.

Kwasi Williams, 29, was killed by two suspects who burst into Tiger’s Den on the 4400 block of Skidaway Road in the early morning hours of April 27, 2009, said Catherine Neal, CrimeStoppers spokeswoman. Williams, who managed Tiger’s Den, was locking up for the night.

Police are still looking for the two suspects, who fled the scene in a stolen truck, Neal said.

A cash reward of as much as $2,500 is available anonymously for new information that leads to an arrest in Williams’ slaying.

All information provided to CrimeStoppers is anonymous and can be reported 24/7. Tipsters can call 912-234-2020, send an e-tip through www.SavannahChathamCrimeStoppers.org or text CSTOP2020 plus the tip to CRIMES (274637).

A Savannah man is in jail on drug-related charges and after an investigation by the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team.

In August, the Chatham County Grand Jury returned a “true bill” in CNT’s investigation into 32-year-old Shemic Taylor of Savannah, said Gene Harley, agency spokesman.

In that investigation, CNT seized trafficking amount of crack cocaine, Harley said.

Following the indictment, Taylor was wanted on multiple felony drug charges including trafficking cocaine and sale of a controlled substance. The investigation into Taylor suggested Taylor was wanted, however he chose not to turn himself in, Harley said.

Earlier this month, undercover CNT agents learned Taylor was still heavily involved in the distribution and sales of controlled substances and quickly identified Taylor’s base of operation, Harley said. On Tuesday, agents and the Savannah-Chatham police K-9 unit executed a search warrant at Taylor’s operation located at a residence in the 2100 block of East 36th Street, Harley said. There, agents arrested Taylor and seized crack, marijuana and more than $2,400 in U.S. currency. One firearm was also seized from the residence.

Tuesday’s arrest marks Taylor’s 10th booking in Chatham County, sixth drug-related arrest and CNT’s second arrest of Taylor, Harley said.

Police say a man was charged with two counts of burglary Thursday morning after he fled from officers and was eventually caught by a K-9.

Officers caught Johnny Lee Ellis, 23, exiting a house he was burglarizing, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

Ellis, of Yamacraw Village, was arrested when he tried to flee by climbing a chain link fence on the 600 block of Bolton Lane about 11 a.m. Thursday, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman. He was treated for a dog bite after K-9 Faust pulled him from the fence by his ankle.

Miller said Ellis, a convicted felon on parole, was charged with burglary for the incident and an outstanding burglary warrant from the Central Precinct in July. He has been charged with parole violations in February and again in May of this year.

Downtown Precinct patrol officers had surrounded the house on the 600 block of East Gwinnet Street, where two televisions and a chainsaw had been removed. Ellis exited the house, saw a uniformed officer and fled on foot, Miller said.

A Pooler man faces multiple charges after police from five agencies chased him through several jurisdictions for nearly an hour Thursday night when they say he took a car at gunpoint.

Jordan Christopher Oneal, 21, was charged with armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle and fleeing to elude police officers, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman. He also has been charged with aggravated assault, failure to maintain lane, failure to obey traffic control devices, attempting to elude a police officer for a felony offense, no permit, reckless driving and speeding.

He was pursued by police from Savannah-Chatham County, Port Wentworth, Garden City, Pooler and Georgia State Patrol officers at speeds more than 100 mph before he abandoned a stolen vehicle in a Pooler neighborhood, climbed a fence into an apartment complex and was taken into custody by waiting metro officers, Miller said.

West Chatham Precinct Patrol officers had responded to an apartment complex on the 100 block of Benton Boulevard near Pooler about 9:30 p.m. where a resident reported he had been robbed of the keys to his white 2013 Jeep Patriot at gunpoint, Miller said.

The Jeep passed another metro officer on Interstate 95 and led officers from the five agencies through Savannah’s southside, out Chatham Parkway and back to the Pooler area.

Interim metro police Chief Julie Tolbert commended the efforts of the five agencies for the precise handling of the pursuit that ended with no injuries and no property damage.

“This was a testament to the various officers and their intense and consistent training,” she said. “It allowed officers from various department who rarely if ever have opportunities to train together to respond in unison to safely address the issue. My compliments go out to every officer involved.”

Detectives from metro’s robbery unit continue to investigate.

Police arrested a Savannah man Monday after they say they seized a large amount of crack cocaine from him.

Kendall Owens, 33, was arrested on multiple felony drug-related charges including sale of a controlled substance and trafficking cocaine, said Gene Harley, Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team spokesman.

Earlier this year, CNT agents received information that Owens was selling powder and crack cocaine. CNT opened an investigation into Owens and successfully purchased cocaine from him during the investigation, Harley said.

Following the cocaine purchase, CNT obtained arrest warrants for Owens to include sale of a controlled substance. On Monday, Owens was taken into custody by CNT without incident, Harley said. Also Monday, CNT conducted a search of Owens’ residence in the 300 block of Lawton Avenue, where agents seized a trafficking amount of crack cocaine, items commonly utilized in the distribution of controlled substances and more than $900 in U.S. currency, Harley said. Two vehicles were also seized.

Owens was being held at the Chatham County jail.

A 44-year-old Fort Stewart soldier has been accused of taking inappropriate photographs without the consent of the subject.

Richmond Hill police say Alexander Cline, of Pooler, has agreed to turn himself in.

The RHPD were notified of the incident which took place at the Beach Babes Salon on Exchange Street by the victim shortly before 2 p.m. Oct. 9. The victim told officers she saw a male taking pictures of her while she was disrobed and being spray-tanned.

“She was in the booth, somebody was spraying her, she looked up and observed what appeared to be a cellphone. There was one employee there along with the employee’s spouse. When they got through the spouse had left. She went home, called the police, we went to her residence. She described the phone. We went back to the business and spoke to the lady,” Billy Reynolds, Richmond Hill chief of police said Tuesday.

When the police returned to the salon the accused man’s wife told them she understood why the officer was there and that she had already notified the owner of the salon as to what had happened.

“We had her have her husband come back over there. He came and admitted he had done it and we have a warrant for his arrest,” Reynolds said.

Cline’s phone matched the description of the one given to police by the victim, however the photos had been deleted.

Bryan County Magistrate Judge Darrell Snyder signed a warrant for Cline’s arrest Tuesday however at that time he had not been arrested. According to RHPD Sgt. Doug Sahlberg, Cline agreed to turn himself in to the Bryan County Jail by the end of the week.

Cline’s wife has not been charged in the incident.

“There is nothing to lead us to believe she is part of this,” Sahlberg said.

Additionally police say they are not aware of Cline having done anything similar in the past.

“We have not had any reports of him doing this before. We have no idea why he did it,” Reynolds said.

Cline did not reveal what he intended to do with the photos. He will be charged with unlawful eavesdropping/surveillance, a felony, Sahlberg said.

Attempts to contact the salon were unsuccessful.

Police in Port Wentworth say a local woman was sentenced to probation and community service last month after making a false report about a home invasion and sexual assault.

Mary Steptoe told police in March 2013 that she had been the victim of a sexual assault and home invasion on South Coastal Highway, said Port Wentworth police Sgt. Brian Phinney. City detectives and Georgia Bureau of Investigation sketch artists released a drawing of the described suspect and distributed in the community.

Many in Port Wentworth were concerned for their wellbeing, and police followed many leads searching for a sexual predator, Phinney said. But as the investigation unfolded, he said, detectives discovered holes in the Steptoe’s story, and evidence recovered from the scene was not consistent with either a sexual assault or the chain of events she described.

The lead investigator presented evidence to a Chatham County grand jury in August 2013, and the grand jury voted to indict Steptoe on one count of false report of a crime and three counts of false statements and writings to law enforcement officials.

After Steptoe was indicted, she went on the run, Phinney said. In September of this year, however, she returned to Chatham County and was arrested Sept. 9 in Garden City. At a Sept. 26 hearing in Chatham County Superior Court, Steptoe pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to two years probation, a $500 fine and 80 hours of community service, Phinney said.

When investigations reveal that crimes have been falsely reported, Phinney said, those people will be prosecuted.

Police say one person was shot on Savannah’s eastside Wednesday night.

Officers were called to Pennsylvania Avenue and Utah Street about 8 p.m., where they found a male suffering from a gunshot wound, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

The shooting victim was taken to Memorial University Medical Center. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

Miller said the intersection of Pennsylvania and Utah would be closed for about two hours while police worked.

The investigation by the police department’s violent crimes detectives is underway. No further information about the shooting or any suspects was immediately available.

Police ask anyone with information on the shooting to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

Investigators can be reached confidentially at 912-525-3124.

Family members of homicide victims plan to gather this weekend to call attention to long-unsolved homicides in the Savannah area.

Voices of Homicide Victims Support Group will host the Cold Case Rally from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Greater Gaines AME Chapel on May Street.

“We’re trying to get the DA to open up some cold case files,” said Lucinda Chisholm, whose 32-year-old son Everette Dexter Simmons was shot and killed while driving through his eastside neighborhood in May 2003. “We also want a detective, a unit to work on cold cases.”

In August, the Savannah-Chatham police department launched a “cold cases” page on its website, through which it profiles certain homicides and asks for tips. The term “cold case,” however, is one the officer who runs the department’s Criminal Investigations Division has previously said he and his detectives don’t like to use.

“A homicide case never closes,” metro police Maj. Larry Branson told the Savannah Morning News in July. “... We are reaching back to cases 10, 12 years ago... and further back as well.”

The support group meets monthly at the courthouse. Chisholm — whose son’s slaying remains unsolved — said she’s there for every meeting.

Rosa Simmons of the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim Witness Assistance Program organizes the group.

Simmons said elected officials, CrimeStoppers and police will be present Saturday.

“This is what a friend of mine whose son was killed said: ‘Today it’s at my door. Tomorrow it might be at yours,’” Simmons said. “Together we have to come together to stop it.”

IF YOU GO

What: Cold Case Rally

When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Greater Gaines AME Chapel, 1006 May St. in Savannah.

Info: Some elected officials, CrimeStoppers and police will be present as well as presenters.

Police say a man was shot early Thursday morning on Savannah’s westside.

Officers were called to the 2300 block of Ogeechee Road at 2:46 a.m. where they found a 32-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

He was taken to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment. Police did not say how serious the man’s injuries were.

Just hours before, police were called to a shooting on the eastside of town.

At 7:58 p.m., officers found a 29-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds at Pennsylvania Avenue and Utah Street, Miller said.

He was taken to Memorial. Police did not say how serious his injuries were.

The police department’s violent crimes detectives are investigating both cases. No further information about the incidents or any suspects was immediately available.

Police ask anyone with information on the shooting cases to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

Investigators can be reached confidentially at 912-525-3124.

A local college graduate who has served in the U.S. Army and worked for the FBI has been named director of Savannah-Chatham CrimeStoppers.

Sherry Gellatly Harriss was appointed as the director by interim Savannah-Chatham Police Chief Julie Tolbert and started work Monday.

Harriss replaces interim director Gianna Nelson, an analyst in the Savannah Area Regional Intelligence Center, a unit of the metro police department. She has led CrimeStoppers since former director Demery Bishop retired last November. Nelson has resumed her responsibilities as an analyst.

Harriss graduated from then Armstrong State College with a degree in criminal justice. While at Armstrong, she was a member of the ROTC program and its first female ROTC graduate, said Julian Miller, metro police spokesman. Selected as a the distinguished military graduate, she received a Regular Army commission as a Signal Corps officer and, after attending Airborne training, served in the Army for three years.

Subsequently appointed as special agent with the FBI and assigned to the Denver and Washington field offices, she conducted investigations in such areas as violent crime, money laundering, narcotics, counter terrorism and white collar crime. Among the investigations she helped conduct were the murder of a Savannah city alderman killed by a letter bomb in the 1980s and the raid in Waco, Texas, in which four agents and six Branch Davidian members were killed in 1993, Miller said.

Harriss is a certified federal polygraph examiner and is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy. She retired from the FBI in 2010, after which she conducted polygraph examinations for private and federal entities. She also worked as a contractor for the State Department’s Office of Diplomatic Security. She is a licensed private investigator.

CrimeStoppers is an independent organization that confidentially solicits and distributes tips on crimes for area law enforcement agencies. Cash rewards are paid for information leading to the solution of crimes although tipsters remain completely anonymous to even the CrimeStoppers staff. Funds for the rewards are collected by CrimeStoppers independent of any governmental agency.

Police say a Savannah man who was shot Wednesday night on the city’s eastside has died.

Marion D. McClendon, 29, died of his injuries Thursday afternoon, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

At 7:58 p.m., officers found McClendon suffering from gunshot wounds at Pennsylvania Avenue and Utah Street, Miller said.

He was taken to Memorial University Medical Center.

Police say a series of incidents over the past few days in which shots were fired were apparently in retaliation to other incidents.

“It appears that some people are taking the law into their own hands and innocent people could be caught in the process,” said interim police Chief Julie Tolbert. “We are calling on the public and religious organizations to help us stop this before that happens.”

Three incidents were reported Thursday night in which shots were fired and at least two males received gunshot wounds, Miller said. One person has been taken into custody. Several people in at least one house received superficial injuries from debris from the impact of the bullets, Miller said.

Police have identified some subjects who seem to be targets of the violence and are trying to find them to get them off the streets, Miller said.

The police department’s violent crimes detectives are investigating the homicide and the shooting cases.

Police ask anyone with information on the shooting cases to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

Investigators can be reached confidentially at 912-525-3124.

A group of Savannah’s clergy members gathered on the city’s eastside Friday afternoon to call for a cease-fire to gun violence.

“We’re concerned, and we’re asking for the community to help us in simply saying enough is enough,” said the Rev. C. MeGill Brown. “We’re calling for a cease-fire for at least the next 48 hours. Let’s get through this weekend and not have any more shootings.”

Brown said the string of shooting incidents in recent days endangers the community as a whole rather than just those engaging in the violence.

Interim Savannah-Chatham Police Chief Julie Tolbert on Friday asked for public help quelling violent activity in a news release announcing a series of incidents in which shots were apparently fired in retaliation to other incidents.

“It appears that some people are taking the law into their own hands and innocent people could be caught in the process,” Tolbert said in a statement. “We are calling on the public, and religious organizations to help us stop this before that happens.”

Police said 29-year-old Marion D. McClendon of Savannah died Thursday after being shot at Utah Street and Pennsylvania Avenue the night before.

Additionally, three incidents were reported Thursday night in which shots were fired and at least two males received gunshot wounds, said metro police spokesman Julian Miller. One person has been taken into custody. Several people in at least one house received superficial injuries from debris from the impact of the bullets, Miller said.

Police have identified some subjects who seem to be targets of the violence and are trying to find them to get them off the streets, Miller said.

The Rev. Thurmond N. Tillman urged people with knowledge of violent crimes to share that information with authorities.

“If you don’t feel comfortable talking to the police, talk to somebody,” Tillman said. “Get the information out because we really do want to have a safe community. We’re asking everybody to please, please let us work together and live together. We’re asking for the shooting to come to an end. Stop the violence.”

He said 48 hours is just the beginning.

“Look at what has happened in the past 48 hours,” Brown said. “If we can just take enough time just to reverse what has taken place in the last two days and let cooler heads prevail, then hopefully that will be, as Pastor Tillman said, a beginning. Then we’ll come back Monday and we’ll reassess everything and look and continue to work with our police department to ensure the safety of our community as a whole.”

Ministers said those who are uncomfortable talking with police can call 912-220-7553 with information.

People with information can also call CrimeStoppers anonymously. Tipsters are not identified and may qualify for a cash reward. CrimeStoppers can be reached at 912-234-2020 or by texting CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020 before the tip.

Investigators can also be reached confidentially at 912-525-3124.

Police say one man was arrested and charged with shooting another man Friday night at a hotel in southwestern Chatham County.

Antonio Issac Easterling, 28, was charged with aggravated assault, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after the shooting about 11:30 p.m. at the Days Inn on Gateway Boulevard.

Easterling and a man he knew got into an argument, which escalated until the second man was shot in his arm, said Michelle Gavin, Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman.

The victim’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Police arrested Easterling at the scene, Gavin said.

Police have charged a 62-year-old convicted sex offender with rape and probation violation after they say he attacked a senior woman in Savannah on Wednesday.

James Thomas Bateman of the 5500 block of Montgomery Street was arrested after Savannah-Chatham police stopped him driving near the Thomas Square/Midtown location where the assault occurred.

Bateman was visiting a woman he knew when he attacked her, said Julian Miller, metro police spokesman.

Bateman had served a 15-year sentence from a rape and incest charge in 1995 and later served seven months of a 10-year sentence for six counts of failure to register as a sex offender, Miller said.

Violent crimes detectives continue to investigate.

Police say they have identified the body of a woman found in a southside Savannah creek Monday.

An autopsy performed at the Georgia state crime lab in Augusta indicated no signs of foul play, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

The police department is withholding release of the woman’s name as detectives continue their investigation, Miller said.

She was found Monday morning in a creek off Edgewater Road, which is near Montgomery Crossroad.

Agents with the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team removed what they called an “elaborate” methamphetamine lab from an eastside Savannah home Wednesday night after conducting a search warrant.

Just before 9 p.m., agents with assistance from Savannah firefighters executed a search warrant on a residence on the 1800 block of East 39th Street. Upon making entry, agents saw several small children and a woman and removed them, said Gene Harley, CNT spokesman.

Inside, agents found a meth lab that appeared to have been active recently and evidence that previous manufacturing had occurred at the residence, Harley said. The laboratory, which Harley said was advanced, included an air filtration system that expelled the toxic gases from the lab into the open air outside the home.

Several neighboring houses were evacuated for three hours as an added precaution, Harley said.

CNT agents trained in clandestine laboratories cleared the residence of all hazard materials in accordance with state and federal laws, Harley said. Wednesday night’s search warrant is the result of an ongoing investigation by CNT into a group of people believed to be involved in the possession, distribution, sale and manufacturing of meth throughout Chatham County, Harley said, adding that arrests are expected soon.

A Pooler police officer was at home recovering from injuries Friday night after a motorist struck him with a car during a traffic stop earlier in the day.

Officer James Self was standing at a motorist’s window on Jimmy DeLoach Parkway near the Hunt Club subdivision about 6:30 a.m. when he was struck by a car being driven by a 67-year-old Bloomingdale man, said Pooler Police Chief Mark Revenew.

Self was hit by the right side of the car Edward Martin was driving, said Georgia State Patrol Sgt. 1st Class Chris Nease, whose agency is investigating the wreck.

The blue lights on Self’s patrol car were activated and the officer was “highly visible,” Revenew said.

After being struck, Self, while lying injured, was able to call for help on his damaged radio, the police chief said.

The seven-year veteran officer was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries and released in the afternoon. Martin was uninjured, Nease said. Police said Martin remained on scene after the wreck.

The wreck was captured on video that troopers have reviewed, Nease said.

“There will be charges,” he said Friday night.

The investigation by the state patrol is ongoing. Nease said the speed Martin’s vehicle was traveling was not immediately known.

“This was a totally preventable accident,” Revenew said. “If people would respect construction workers, police officers, any maintenance workers and take time to move over, this was totally preventable.”

In Georgia, motorists are required by law to move over one lane if possible when emergency vehicles of any kind are working on the side of the road. There are two lanes in each direction where the officer was struck.

“If people take a small amount of time to move over, we can stop these injuries and deaths,”

Revenew said.

Police say they want to talk to a man spotted bicycling in Savannah as part of an investigation.

The man shown in photos released Friday by Savannah-Chatham police was seen riding a bicycle in the area of East Victory Drive, said Julian Miller, department spokesman. Detectives would like to talk to him as part of an investigation.

Police did not define the nature of the investigation.

Anyone with information that can help identify or locate the bicyclist is asked to call Detective Alycia McLemore at 912-353-3100 ext. 2357 or

CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters to CrimeStoppers remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.